FANS at last week’s Listowel Harvest Festival enjoyed a feast of racing with Limerick trainer Charles Byrnes taking the major prize on offer as his Alfa Beat continued his remarkable rate of improvement with a popular success in the Guinness Kerry National.
Rated just 93 over the larger obstacles when moving to Byrnes’ Ballingarry yard back in the spring, Alfa Beat had risen to a rating of 137 by the time he went to post for last Wednesday’s showpiece and the flying grey showed that stunning rise in the handicap was well merited as the 6/1 shot strode to victory under an inspired Barry Geraghty ride.
A talented field of 18 chasers faced the starter for the €96,000 winner’s purse in this competitive three-mile test and this season’s Galway Plate winner, Finger on the Pulse, kept the entire line-up honest when setting a decent pace up front. It was noticeable from about the halfway stage that Geraghty was bringing Alfa Beat, who runs in the silks of his Pallaskenry owner Barry Healy, wide in search of better ground and when Archie Boy fell four out, Alfa Beat appeared to be travelling like a winner.
To his credit, Finger on the Pulse and Mark Walsh didn’t give up too easily but by the time the last fence arrived, Alfa Beat had his measure. At this point, well-backed 7/2 favourite Dancing Tornado was the only one making any impression and, despite running on well towards the end, the JP McManus-owned runner-up, who did his chances no good at all with a bad blunder down the back, just couldn’t get to the winner who passed the line three and a half lengths in front. Finger on the Pulse was rewarded for his game attempt to make all with third ahead of Swift Counsel with last year’s winner Northern Alliance turning in a sound effort in fifth.
Byrnes, who is regarded as one of the shrewdest men in the game, was delighted with Alfa Beat’s success and was full of praise for Geraghty in his post-race analysis.
“Fair play to Barry who made a brave decision to go wide on him for the better ground. He picked up very well after that as he’s a good ground horse and the underfoot conditions are very important to him,” Mr Byrnes said.
Commenting on Alfa Beat’s rapid improvement, Byrnes explained, “When we got him, we thought he was very well handicapped. You must remember he is only six and does have age on his side. His long-term aim will be the four-miler at Cheltenham but his quite well handicapped over hurdles and we might go that route with him too,” he added.
While the victory of Alfa Beat was undoubtedly a major highlight for his trainer, there was to be a controversial finish to the meeting for Byrnes following the running of his horse, Pittoni, in the concluding flat race on Saturday.
An even-money shot in the early morning exchanges, three-time hurdle winner Pittoni opened 7/2 on track and, having been well of the pace in the early stages of this one-mile, six-furlong event, ran on well towards the end to finish fourth beaten just over 11 lengths in the end.
The stewards deemed that Byrnes had used the racecourse as a training ground, fining him €2,000, suspending Pittoni’s Sligo-born jockey Derek Fox for seven days and banning the horse for six weeks (42 days).
Byrnes, who stated ‘he was happy with the ride his horse received’, has indicated he will definitely be appealing the decision.  

Russell in the wars

WHILE  Listowel was a tremendous success – attendance figures for the week were up by 3.5% from 90,250 in 2009 to 93,645 this year – it wasn’t all plain sailing for everybody with top jockey Davy Russell enduring a torrid time at the Kingdom venue.
The week started off on a bad note for the Youghal rider when he missed the winning ride aboard Noel Glynn’s Gonebeyondrecall on the opening afternoon. Worse was to come, however, as he could have ridden Wednesday’s Kerry National winner Alfa Beat but for being claimed by his retainer Michael O’Leary to partner top-weight Mossbank only for that horse to be pulled out on the morning of the race by his trainer Michael Hourigan.
Before racing on Thursday, Russell failed a routine, alcohol breath test which caused dismay among his weigh-room colleagues given that Cork man is well-known as a non-drinker. It later transpired that Russell had used a particular mouthwash before he left his accommodation at nearby Ballybunion to go to the races, which affected the reading and this fact was borne out by a second test 30 minutes later which proved negative.
As events transpired, Russell’s bad day was about to get even worse when he took a fall from Mister Two Fifty in the beginners’ chase which left him with a broken leg and the top jump jockey now faces two months on the sidelines. To add to his woes, Russell missed the ride on John Hassett’s 4/1 shot Lough Ferrib who followed up his impressive Down Royal success of the previous Friday when scoring in Thursday’s three-mile Devon Inn Hotel Handicap Hurdle.
Lough Ferrib is proving a real money-spinner for his owners, the Collar and Tie Syndicate, and did really well to score here having come from off the pace. Davy Condon stepped in for the unfortunate Russell and he kept his mount going long enough in the home straight to beat runner-up Molly’s Boy by a length after a terrific tussle from the final flight. The winner is obviously a versatile sort and Hassett will surely find another suitable opportunity for the nine-year-old in the weeks ahead.
Elsewhere, there were a few other eye-catching performers throughout the week at the north Kerry track and none more so than Henry De Bromhead’s Loosen My Load in Friday’s Southampton Goodwill Chase.  A dual bumper winner, this son of Dushyantor, who made a winning bow over fences at Punchestown in the spring, made all the running in this two-mile, three-furlong contest to justify 8/15 favouritism with an easy victory over Ronnie O’Leary Schelm. The winner, who turned in some spectacular leaps, is one for the notebook and may well turn up back at the Kildare track early next month.
There was also joy for Gort owners, Kathleen and Bernard Gillane, as their Charlie Swan-trained 5/2 favourite Cloone Rocket (backed from 11/2)) landed a gamble with a fluent success under Nina Carberry in the last race of the week, the €20,000 Listowel Races Supporters’ Club Slán Abhaile Flat Race on Saturday evening.